Chapter 658 - 218: A Terrifying Scheme: Qin Feng, the Oriole Behind

Chapter 658: Chapter 218: A Terrifying Scheme: Qin Feng, the Oriole Behind

The total duration of the competition in a major warzone is one thousand years.

Spending thirty or even forty years here, which is three to four percent of the total competition time... if he came away with nothing, it would be a total loss.

As he mulled it over, he opened the private domain forum and quickly browsed the latest updates on the other few Constant Star-level opportunities.

Qin Feng found that the situation in those places was just as grim.

Every single one of those opportunities was a site of extremely violent conflict. A large number of top prodigies had gathered, fighting with world-shattering intensity, but so far, there was no news of any side successfully seizing their prize.

As for the Insect Race Secret Realm where he was located, the discussion on the forums had dropped to a freezing point.

Aside from a few scattered posts speculating about the final owner of this place, the vast majority of contestants’ attention had long been drawn to the fierce battles happening elsewhere.

Qin Feng quickly composed himself and made his final decision.

He would stay here and wait for the right moment.

Risk and opportunity went hand in hand.

A complete Will from a Constant Star-level Nest, once obtained, would be enough for his Mental Power cultivation to complete half the process of constructing the "Infinite Sea"!

Such a heaven-defying opportunity was worth him gambling several decades of his time.

Having made up his mind, Qin Feng no longer hesitated.

He carefully avoided Mobi’s patrol route on the map, as well as the chaotic torrents of energy on the battlefield, finally hiding himself once again in a subterranean cave not far from the main battleground.

All Qin Feng had to do was wait.

Wait for the war to end, wait for both sides to be mutually crippled, and wait for Cang and the others to make their move...

He would be the oriole, the last to strike.

Time slipped by quietly amidst this bloody war and patient waiting.

Over the next few years, a steady stream of Martial Artists, hoping to get lucky, still entered this long-forgotten secret realm.

However, their fates were already sealed.

These people were often forcefully slain by Mobi—who had long been lying in wait—with the force of a thunderbolt before they could even get a clear look at the secret realm’s true layout, or even fully extend their Mental Power.

In the final moments of their lives, they probably thought they had been killed by a powerful Insect Race guard within the secret realm.

A few more years passed. As the number of missing contestants grew, no one dared to set foot in this area, which had been marked as "Extremely Dangerous," ever again.

「Twenty years passed in a flash.」

To the vast Trial Star System Cluster outside, this place had been almost completely forgotten by all the contestants.

But what they didn’t know was that in the live stream rooms of the Empire’s countless viewing organizations, and on the Cosmic Genius Battle’s official live channel, the viewership for this warzone, named "Heart of Rot," remained consistently high.

Because countless viewers were clearly witnessing everything happening here from a god’s-eye view!

"Tsk, tsk, this is insane. Four of the monsters from the top ten on the Combat Power list have gathered here, and they’re even using such methods to clear the field."

"I have to say, Cang’s scheme was brilliant. That little act they put on back then actually managed to trick over a hundred thousand competitors into leaving.

"Even now, besides us viewers, probably no one knows they’re about to get their hands on a massive opportunity here!"

"Too bad. Man proposes, God disposes.

"They schemed and plotted, but they probably never calculated that there was also ’Madman’ Qin Feng, who’s even more patient than they are.

"He stubbornly waited for a whole year for the Green-skin to arrive. That kind of disposition is truly remarkable."

"Yeah, now we’ll see just how strong Qin Feng really is. He’s been immersed in the ’River Realm’ for over twenty years, and he’s mastered the ’Sealing King Legacy.’ He’s definitely qualified to challenge the top ten."

"Who knows? Daring to plot against four of the top ten on the Combat Power list, one of whom is the number one, Cang... Anyone with that kind of idea can’t be weak."

The audience buzzed with discussion in the public channels, full of anticipation for the coming climactic showdown—the oriole waiting in the wings.

Of course, the contestants within the secret realm had no way of knowing any of this.

Otherwise, Qin Feng’s presence would have likely been exposed long ago.

...

「Morning Star.」

Master Gu Yue was lounging leisurely in a recliner in her cultivation room. Watching the light screen, she saw Qin Feng hiding motionless under a rock, like an old monk in deep meditation, his aura perfectly blended with the environment. She couldn’t help but chuckle.

"This kid... he’s so damn sneaky."

Lin Yue laughed out loud too.

"I never realized he was this crafty before. He always acts so serious, but I guess he’s got a mischievous streak."

Lin Yue giggled. Looking at the motionless Qin Feng, she smiled and said, "It’s quite a contrast."

...

...

「Cannan Starry Sky Martial Arts University, Iron Fist Tavern.」

"Ahem, how can you call that insidious? That’s strategy! That’s our Senior Qin Feng’s top-tier tactical acumen!"

A member of the Fearless Warband righteously retorted to a comment on the screen calling him "sneaky."

"That said, this Cang guy really is something else. To think of a way to use the Green-skin to break the stalemate... that’s ruthless."

"Yeah, he’s amazing, alright. Too bad our Senior Qin Feng saw right through him. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"

"I just wonder if our Senior Qin Feng, the ’oriole,’ will actually succeed in the end."

...

Ning Jing, Dragon Jade, and Nissan were still regulars at the tavern.

They watched Qin Feng’s match via the live stream, treating it as the ultimate combat lesson, while also frantically honing their own newly-attained and still unstable Planetary-level killing techniques in the Imperial Arena.

All three of them had successfully placed in the top one thousand of the "Starry Sky Cup," which meant they had earned a ticket to participate in the next "Cosmic Genius Battle."

The three of them had also made a decision: after watching Qin Feng’s brilliant "oriole" operation, they would go and register for the competition.

The Cosmic Genius Battle was held very frequently.

The Empire had five million Warbands, and each one had its own unique training and development model, tested over countless years.

Periodically, the major Warbands would select a group of their top young prodigies who had just broken through to the Planetary-level and send them to the "Cosmic Genius Battle"—the grandest and most brutal stage of all—for the ultimate baptism by blood and fire.

Watching Qin Feng’s performance, Ning Jing and the other two naturally felt the urge to enter the Cosmic Genius Battle themselves!

They just weren’t sure if they could make it to a major warzone, or if they’d be eliminated in a minor one.

...

Across every corner of the Cosmos, the same stories were unfolding.

Among the live streams covering the dozens of Constant Star-level Resource Points and the numerous ordinary ones, the one showing the five people at the Insect Nest had, by far, the most viewers! ℯℯ𝑙.

It was simple: four top-ten Combat Power rankers, each harboring sinister designs and waiting to spring a nasty trap on the others; one Qin Feng playing the oriole from behind; an Insect Queen of unknown depth in her Insect Nest; and a cunning, brutal Green-skin. The drama was just too good.